Blue Ridge Commons

Blue Ridge Commons

The building fills a gentle slope between an existing parking lot and the resort access road.

Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects

The vertical articlation echoes the form of nearby slope-side condominium buildings.

Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects

An access bridge connects the upper floor to a resort parking lot.

Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects

The facility is organized into two residential buildings and a support facility with a lounge and a resident manager's apartment.

Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects

Near the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, at 3200 above sea level, the living areas offer views to the valley below.

Image Courtesy of VMDO Architects

Foundations are in-place and ready to receive the pre-fabricated apartment modules, shipped 110 miles by truck from Rocky Mount, Virginia.

Image Courtesy of Turner Wicks Construction

The pre-fabricated modules were erected by crane with minimal on-site construction.

Stone veneer provides a tangible connection to the local physiography.

Home on the Mountain

Wintergreen’s Blue Ridge Commons serves the short-term housing needs for many of the resort’s seasonal associates who arrive via cultural exchange programs. When opened in 2006, it was the first employer-owned affordable housing complex in central Virginia. Located within walking distance of nearly all of the resort’s amenities and work areas, the site greatly reduces dependence on automobile traffic. The design includes sixteen fully furnished three-bedroom apartment units—each unit sleeping six and including living, dining, and kitchen areas. The building also includes a shared commons area and laundry facilities.

The unique modular construction method allowed the contractor to deliver the project over the course of a single “off-season”. The project is comprised of over 100 modular units factory-built and shipped to the site for rapid assembly and field finishing of joints.